Jessica Jones: We Want You! by Jerry Whitworth
The second series in the Defenders franchise from Netflix and Marvel Television in Jessica Jones emerged some months ago and only last month a second season was confirmed. Certainly, it’s unlikely that season will be along anytime soon considering the second season of Daredevil (featuring the Punisher) will premiere next month, Luke Cage will be coming later in the year, and Iron Fist is currently in development (as rumor has it a Punisher series may also be coming down the pipe and there is also the Defenders series itself). Putting that in perspective, the earliest would likely be early 2017 but it could easily be pushed back a year if Iron Fist and Punisher (as the latter could take Daredevil‘s early year spot in place of a third season) were to pick up traction. In any event, a second season will eventually be on the way which begs the question of what it may entail. Jessica Jones likely will be the hardest of the Netflix properties to determine what will be coming up considering her fellow Defenders have forty to fifty years of content to borrow from whereas Jessica has fifteen years. Of that, a large chunk of those stories were tackled in her show’s first season (notably her arch-nemesis Purple Man and love interest Luke Cage) which even then saw the series borrow from elsewhere (the introductions of Hellcat, Nuke, and Jeryn/Jeri Hogarth). With that in mind, lets then take a look at what could be coming up in season two of Jessica Jones.
KAT FARRELL
A top reporter for the Daily Bugle who covered superheroes for “The Pulse” section of the paper, Kat Farrell would work with Jessica Jones who acted as a “special consultant” for the publisher. Wanting to focus on ordinary citizens like police and firefighters, Farrell was begrudgingly saddled with covering superheroes. Likely Farrell’s most famous investigation was into the deaths of six supervillains which she learned was tied to Judge Michael Hart and the villainous Tinkerer. The arrangement between Jones and the Bugle was shortlived, however, when she abandoned the paper due to the antics of J. Jonah Jameson. In the comics, Farrell worked closely with Ben Urich who was portrayed in the Netflix Daredevil series only to die while investigating Wilson Fisk. It wouldn’t then be a stretch that Farrell was something of a protege of Urich’s who gets pulled into the world of costumed characters following the death of her mentor. With the emergence of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and the Punisher, Farrell could become a reoccurring character wanting to both get the truth out to the people but also honor the memory of Ben Urich.
CLAY QUARTERMAIN
The relationship between Jessica Jones and Luke Cage grew into what today maybe the power couple of the Marvel Universe but in the comics, Cage wasn’t her only love interest. Considering the terms on which Cage and Jessica Jones parted (which could be best described as complicated) and what is implied as a relationship brewing between Cage and night shift nurse Claire Temple (who dated each other in the comics) in his upcoming series, it’s safe to assume for the second season of Jessica Jones, the heroine maybe entering into a new relationship. In the comics, largely the only other man in Jones’ life was likely S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Clay Quartermain. Starting out as an agent under the command of Nick Fury before becoming a supporting character for the Hulk, Quartermain was retconned to have had a relationship with Jones following her escape from the Purple Man when she was being treated by S.H.I.E.L.D. Though their pairing didn’t pan out, they remained in contact and often assisted each other (as Jones would gain information and clearances from Quartermain and he would employ her to help with investigations). In one such instance, Quartermain used her to take down a power broker trying to install a puppet as the President of the United States. Later, when Jones was investigating an attack on Cage by Hydra, Quartermain monitored her and came to her rescue. While S.H.I.E.L.D. is more-or-less non-existent in the MCU right now (acting as a rogue organization in the series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), that’s not to say an emerging Quartermain couldn’t be some type of government agent such as for the Advanced Threat Containment Unit (ATCU). It wouldn’t be far-fetched if the pair have a history and Jones’ conflict with Kilgrave could have brought Quartermain to her door and Jones could try and use him to get information about IGH and its Dr. Koslov.
SPIDER-WOMAN
The world of Jessica Jones is deeply rooted in superheroes, perhaps none more so than her relationships with Luke Cage, Ms. Marvel, and the Spider-Man family. When Brian Michael Bendis initially conceived of Alias (the series which Jones derived), he intended it to be a series about Jessica Drew, the original Spider-Woman, only to change gears with a completely brand new character and direction. Still, Spider-Man and his world have crossed over into Jones’ several times including the emergence of Drew. One of Jones’ cases involved her looking for Mattie Franklin, the third Spider-Woman, who had gone missing which brought Drew on as an ally to the P.I. In this case, Jones uncovers Mutant Growth Hormone (MGH), a drug that bestows superpowers for a limited period of time peddled by the criminal underworld. It has been speculated by fans that the IGH from Jessica Jones maybe a variation on this in Inhuman Growth Hormone as mutants are tied up with Fox and the X-Men where Inhumans largely act as a replacement for them in the MCU. Following the rescue of Franklin, Drew would later team with Jones, Ms. Marvel, and Mockingbird against the Dark Avengers. Jessica Drew as a child experienced prolonged exposure to uranium which nearly killed her. Desperate to save her life, her father gave her an experimental serum derived from irradiated spider blood which ended up both saving her and giving her superpowers. This origin bears some similarities to that of Kilgrave from Jones‘ series as his parents were part of a brain trust that experimented on children. It’s then this connection and the possible significance of MGH to IGH to see how simply Drew could emerge in the series. It should be noted, Jessica Drew is rumored to be available for use by Marvel Studios/Television but none of the other Spider-Women.
FREEDOM FORCE
With the introduction of Nuke to the series and Jessica Jones’ investigation into IGH, it would make sense she would face a foe that employs enhanced soldiers and is in some manner connected to the government. One such organization that bears some of these elements is the Freedom Force. Originally patterned after The Dirty Dozen (1967) to some degree, Freedom Force employed Mystique’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to perform covert government operations for commuted prison sentences. Eventually, the group would expand to include the Crimson Commando, Stonewall, and Super Sabre, three superpowered soldiers who fought in World War II whom returned home to hunt and kill criminals for sport. Coming into conflict with Storm over a misunderstanding, they would join the Freedom Force for their vigilante activities. Nuke bears some similarities to this trio being an ex-soldier with psychopathic tendencies. It wouldn’t then be hard to imagine Commando, Stonewall, and Sabre as three other enhanced individuals empowered by Dr. Koslov. Stonewall and Sabre would later die in combat as Commando would be turned into a cyborg operative.
